Irene Lorraine Bartkovitz, 87, a longtime resident of Swoyersville, and more recently a resident of Kingston Manor, passed into eternal life on Sunday afternoon, June 11, 2017, at Hunterdon Care Center, Flemington, New Jersey, surrounded by her loving family.

Born on December 10, 1929, at Nesbitt Memorial Hospital, Kingston, Irene was one of eight children born to the late Martin and Helen (Kluk) Mahalic.   

Raised in Swoyersville, Irene was a graduate of the former Swoyersville High School, Class of 1947, where her yearbook caption read, “Irene is an intelligent lass who knows the answers in class”!

Following her high school graduation, Irene worked as a waitress in Wilkes-Barre, where she met her future husband, Joseph Paul “Jokey” Bartkovitz, who had recently returned from serving in World War II as an Army Medic. They were united in marriage on June 17, 1950, and were blessed to share 36 wonderful years of marriage.

Prior to her retirement, Irene was employed as a seamstress in the local garment industry.

Irene was a faithful Catholic and a lifelong member of the former Saint Mary of Czestochowa Church, Swoyersville, where, as a young lady, she held membership with the church’s Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality. Following the consolidation of her church, she became a member of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Swoyersville.

In addition to her parents, Martin and Helen Mahalic, Irene was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph, who passed on April 5, 1987; her sister, Margaret Amato; and her brothers, Peter Mahalick, Martin Mahalic Jr., Edward Mahalic and Bernard Mahalic.

Irene is survived by her children, David Bartkovitz and his wife, Christine, Nutley, New Jersey; Beverly Winberry and her husband, Kevin, Milford, Connecticut; and Barbara Corgan and her husband, Mark, Annandale, New Jersey; her three grandchildren, Bradley Corgan, Katherine Bartkovitz, and Sondra Corgan M.D.; her sisters, Mary Whiteman, Toms River, New Jersey; and Dolores Schrieber, Escondido, California; as well as her many nieces and nephews. 

The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to the nurses and staff at Kingston Manor, for the outstanding care they all bestowed upon Irene.

Relatives and Friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral which will be conducted on Friday, June 16, 2017, at 9:00 AM from the Wroblewski Funeral Home, Inc., 1442 Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:00 AM in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, 116 Hughes Street, Swoyersville, with the Reverend Joseph J. Pisaneschi, her Pastor, officiating.

Interment with the Rite of Committal will follow in Saint Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Swoyersville.

Family and Friends are invited to call on Thursday, June 15, 2017, from 5:30 to 8:30 PM, at the funeral home.

For additional information or to send Irene’s Family an online message of condolence, you may visit the funeral home website at www.wroblewskifuneralhome.com.

Memorial Contributions may be made in Irene’s memory to Kingston Manor Personal Care Center, Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, or the American Cancer Society.